View full sizeJ. Scott Park | MLive.comCharles Lewis Jr. sits with his mother, Trisha Lindsey, during the continuation of his sentencing hearing in front of Ingham County Circuit Judge George Economy in Lansing last week.

LANSING, MI -- Charles Lewis Jr.'s early age and the role his father played in a 2010 murder were certainly mitigating factors in Lewis' sentencing.

Ingham Circuit Judge George Economy delayed the 15-year-old Lewis' sentencing to age 21, when he will have to reappear before the court, either to be freed or sentenced to life in prison without parole. The judge cited recommendations from experts, who endorsed the delayed option.

But readers who voted in an MLive.com poll largely found no excuse for Lewis in his age at the time of the crime. They disagreed with Economy's ruling, saying instead Lewis deserved to be punished as an adult with a life-without-parole sentence.

Murderous intent is embedded into this convict and to destroy the future seed of stupidity needs to be addressed. I am sure the tabloid media and the judicial system will allow this convict to hunt and harvest his human prey amongst innocent communities asking this disturbed individual to be released for future criminal storylines.

Nearly 300 voted in the poll, with more than 46 percent calling for a life sentence for Lewis. About 30 percent agreed with the delayed sentenced Economy handed down.

Fifteen percent said Lewis deserved to be treated as a juvenile, which would have put Lewis in juvenile detention until age 21. Another 10 percent were undecided.

Lewis was 13 when he and seven older men allegedly kidnapped 19-year-old Shayla Johnson from her Lansing home, with his father shooting and killing her. In January, Lewis was convicted of felony murder in Johnson's death.

Had Economy sentenced Lewis as an adult, the teen would have become one of the youngest juvenile lifers in the nation, and the youngest ever in Michigan. One reader found that prospect unacceptable.

The sentence was appropriate and humane. He can still sit in prison and repay his debt to society and be given an opportunity to repent and ask for God's Grace if he does not change then he can be re-sentenced at a later day....everybody wins. Let's thank the judge for his mercy and justice. This is a TITLE Michigan does not need.

View full sizeCourtesy photoShayla Johnson, 19, was killed when Charles Lewis Sr., allegedly opened fire on her after she was thrown in to the trunk of a car in July 2010.

Economy admitted it Lewis' sentence was one of the most challenging decisions he's had to make in his 26 years on the bench, maybe even the toughest. He said the prognosis for Lewis' successful rehabilitation into a productive member of society was low but that he was optimistic and knew the delayed sentence was "the right thing to do."

The judge's ultimate responsibility is to ensure justice is served. Was that accomplished in Lewis' case? Those who voted in the poll say no, but a majority of comments on the poll suggested Economy came to the correct conclusion.